Author Archives: Hati

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I was so happy when I saw that my kesidang plants has buds. I think the last time it bloomed was in 2011.

After waiting for the buds to mature, this is what I managed to snap. There are a few more closed buds waiting to bloom into those white flowers.

And then as I inspect further, I noticed a few more clusters of buds along the thin stem.

I just can’t wait for all 3 bunch of buds to fully bloom. As of now I am enjoying the sweet pandan-scented smell of the kesidang flowers every time I walk pass the plant. It is such a joy even though she only wants to bloom like once a year.

I have moved the second kesidang plant I have to a spot where it can get more sun in hope that it will grow bigger and decide to bloom more sweet flowers for me this year.

Despite the heavy rain in December and lack of tender care on my part, my ylang ylang (kenanga) plant has been doing well.

I was amazed to see a lot of buds coming out and none of the white pest problem mentioned earlier. After some reading, I got to know that the kenanga plant will flower year-round, but mainly during the rainy season.

It took me a while to see the flower turns fully yellow.The yellow-green flowers are highly fragrant. I read somewhere that the flowers are used for production of Chanel No.5 perfume.

Kenanga or ylang ylang belongs to the family of Annonaceae. Its scientific name is Canangium odoratum. The normal tree can grow up to 30-35 metres. However for home gardening purpose, there are hybrid plants that can start flowering even when the height is less than 2 metres.

Maybe what I have in my garden is actually the dwarf variety known as Cananga fruticosa, Cananga odorata var. Fruticosa, Cananga kirkii.

The seller at Floria told me that the Malay name for this plant is mayang sari. Later I found out it is called fiddlewood or also known as Spiny Fiddlewood.

Here are some details taken from burkesbackyard.com.au

Fiddlewood

The fiddlewood is a lovely West Indian native tree grown for its attractive foliage and fragrant flowers. Both the genus name citharexylum (from the Greek – kithara, lyre, and xylon, wood) and the common name of fiddlewood refer to the use of the tree’s timber to make sounding boards for musical instruments.

Common name: Fiddlewood

Botanic name: Citharexylum spinosum

Description: Fast growing tree to 10-12m (30-40′). In spring the bright green leaves turn an unusual salmon-orange colour, and in cooler areas about half the foliage falls. In tropical climates fiddlewoods do not lose as many leaves. Creamy white sprays of perfumed flowers appear at the branch tips from about midsummer to early winter.

Best climate: Tropical and subtropical zones, and also warm microclimates in cooler areas with protection from frost when young.

The plant has sweetly perfumed flowers which I love so much. Reading more about fiddlewood, I also found out that all parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested.

Upon further reading here – Fiddlewood, it seems that the plant has seeds that are edible. The flowers look the same as what I have in my garden but I am yet to see any of such seeds on mine. Maybe because it is Citharexylum fruticosum while my Fiddlewood species is undetermined. (How to determine whether it’s spinosum or fruticosum?)

I almost didn’t realize that the purple cattleya has bloomed again. It has been raining almost every afternoon till evening that I hardly went out to the yard to check on my plants. And when I realized that there were flowers coming out, I quickly took some pictures.

I think the last time my cattleya bloomed was in February. Despite the extreme negligence on my part for the past few months, I was glad that I let my son played around with the fertilizer spray. We used seaweed extract mixed with plain water bought at Floria last year to fertilize most of the plants in the garden.

To read more about cattleya, check out my previous entries here – Cattleya Orchid and Repot Cattleya.

All the pictures of bunga kenanga plant I have in may garden were actually taken in July. I was watering all my plants that day when I noticed that two ylang ylang flowers have bloomed. And then I noticed the white infestation on the flowers..huhu!

Afraid that it might infect the rest of the plant, I decided to pluck out those two precious blooms. I still couldn’t find what the white thing is. Since I have had bad experience with butterfly caterpillar eating the whole plant of curry leaves last year, I didn’t want to take the chance and let those white things manifest.

A few days ago I noticed the same white things grow on my roses and bougainvillea branches..sigh! This time I sprayed with water from the hose and they fell down from those branches. Next time I think I will have to dissect and see what it is, just for the sake of knowing..haha!

Anyone know what the white pest is actually is? Is it harmful to the plant?

I found these pictures in my May 2011 folder.

It has been a while since I have any good gardening material to write about. I think the Kesidang plant I have at home will only bloom like once a year..haha!

I am not sure whether I have mentioned that I got another pot of Vallaris Glabra or bunga kerak nasi from a nearby plant nursery.

When I bought the second bunga tikam seladang plant, it was flowering. Now I am still waiting for it to bloom again. I have tried using the tut lentur technique (propagate by layering) to propagate the first Kesidang plant I have many years back, but it failed.

I love the sweet scented smell of pandan leaves that come from the blooming Kesidang flowers.

They are such a joy to my heart, see even the ants love them.

I hope I will be able to grow a tall and big plant of Kesidang in years to come so that one day I would be able to make bunga rampai for my own son’s wedding using the flowers..hehe!